Attacus Lemairei - A beautiful moth endemic to Palawan

      Attacus lemairei Peigler, 1985 is a large moth endemic to Palawan. It belongs to the family Saturniidae, a family of large spectacular moths characterised by hair-like scales covering their body and lobed or sickle-shaped wings that are vibrantly coloured. This moth is less known, but close kin to the world famous Attacus atlas.

Attacus lemairie larvae.

     The caterpillars are large, dusty-green in color and adorned with fleshy spines along their backs. When the caterpillars are ready to pupate, they spin a papery cocoon interwoven with dried leaves and attach it to a twig using a strand of silk. The adult moths emerge from the very durable cocoon as the beautiful creature shown in the photo.

Adult Attacus lemairei size.

      Newly emerged female moths does not stray far from the location of their discarded cocoon for a few days. They release powerful pheromones through a gland on the end of the abdomen to attract a mate. They search for a perch where the air currents will best carry their pheromones that active males can notice from a distance using chemoreceptors located on their feathery antennae.

New emerged Attacus lemairei.

     The adult Attacus lemairei moths rest during the day and fly at night. They are weak fliers and have a very short lifespan. The adults lack fully formed mouthparts and cannot eat. They subsist entirely on fat reserves accumulated during the larval stage. As a result, they live for only a short time during which their sole objective is seeking out a mate.